


Demon Planet

by Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)



Series: Just Write It [6]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Challenge Response, Earth Love, Family, Friendship, Gen, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25159675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari
Summary: Finding a place one belongs is no easy task, particularly when one is stuck in space on a colonial ship to damaged to make the trip to the real colony, and not the place of myth, the Demon Planet. In turn, Gaara knows everyone needs a purpose, but now his purpose is gone, and the need to find said purpose becomes important, leading him into trouble, and no siblings in sight.
Series: Just Write It [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1822042
Kudos: 1
Collections: (Prompts) Just Write It





	1. Trajectory of Life, The Demon Planet

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Nuclear Sands](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25154917) by [Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari). 



> Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto. This was written for both Just Write It, May 2016 called Earth Love which involved a story about life on any planet other than Earth and the thirtieth Sci-Friday challenge called Project Constellations which involves "the inhabitants of Earth must take to the stars in order for the human race to survive. To remain would mean certain extinction. Where they go, what they encounter on the way, who and what they find at their destination is entirely up to you." The story was to be about 10,000 words, but I ended up not finishing, so I'm not so worried about the length anymore. I've no plans on pairing Gaara with any of the OCs. This story also ties into my one-shot Nuclear-Sands.

Life...

The monotonous drone of everyday life ate away at the soul, leaving the world appearing as if in tones of gray rather than the vibrant colors which existed in real life. The teacher droned on, his voice likewise monotonous. The rhetoric passing his lips drummed through the young students' minds pushing the perceived lie; if life really did come to mean nothing, then why did everyone on board the ship see the world represented in colors.

"That's what you should take away from this book, _The Giver_ , that there is still hope for our colony ship despite the damage sustained a hundred years ago during the Great War. Eventually, we will arrive at our utopia, the land of milk and honey."

A finger swept across the computer screen, pulling colorful clothing unavailable on the colony ship on and off an electronic doll. The fifteen-year-old teen struggled back her boredom. Every so often her hazel eyes darted up with a dirty look aimed at the teacher. Savi wondered when the younger students would come to realize the information given in class proved useless regarding everyday life. In this case, she also held personal doubts regarding the message in the book.

"Seeing life in color my ass. The only real place we find the color on this ship are these electronic games they allow us to play."

Heaving the words from the classmate who shared her desk setting made Savi reach up allowing her finger to twirl a strand of her blond hair. Her thin lips pushed together. "Go away Avrid." She gagged at the sight of the flirtatious seventeen-year-old chuckling, his light strawberry-blond locks falling in front of his crystal blue eyes. The fifteen-year-old twisted the blond lock of hair tighter, her lips pushing together more. " _Seriously, the options for a fifteen-year-old looking for romance on this ship are way too limited. The guys are either too old, too young, too dumb, or too ugly._ "

A sigh of relief left the blond-haired teen upon hearing the delightful sound of the school bell ringing. Her eyes drifted over towards her best friend. The frown on Darin's face made the side of Savi's face wince, her lips pushing together even tighter, her hazel eyes watching as Avrid purposefully bumped into the brown-haired sixteen-year-old. "What?"

"I could ask the teacher to allow you and me to switch places with you, that way you don't have to deal with Avrid."

"No thanks." A heavy feeling settled into Savi's stomach, her eyes darting away to look at the electronic blackboard at the front of the classroom. The fifteen-year-old quickly detached her pad from the classroom console, hoping to escape from her peer group, and into the quiet sanctuary of the captain quarters, only to stop upon seeing Avird let out a curse when one of the elementary level students crashed into him.

"Hey, you do know what happens to kids when they misbehave? The officers put them in an escape hatch, and launch them out towards the Demon Colony, so the monsters can eat them."

The corner of Darin's mouth twitched. "Come on Avrid. Everyone knows that place is a myth. That colony never existed. Even if it did, that would be a waste of escape pods."

Avird made himself stand at his full height, his crystal blue eyes flashing with anger. His mouth opened while his fist clenched together, indicating he wished to pummel the sixteen-year-old. Savi felt the tension in the small hallway of the ship grow and braced herself for the two to break out into yet another fight. A small, soft voice next to her spoke up; the sound of the voice of the ten-year-old sent chills down Savi's spine.

"The Demon Colony isn't a myth. The place really exists, bull all ships are expected to avoid the place. What exists there is another question entirely."

Savi tilted her head, her hazel eyes noting the presence of her younger sister. Navi's blond hair was lighter, to the point the strands appeared white with only a slight tint of gold; in addition, her eyes were a vivid red. The youngest of the captain's children looked like a ghost; some of the other children thought the pale child enjoyed things of the occult nature or was herself a phantom. Navi's mouth also spouted off random details about the stellar myths floating around the ship with ease; Savi knew, though, her sister simply picked up any piece of information she somehow managed to retain within that eclectic mind of hers.

The fifteen-year-old steered her ten-year-old sister into leaving the group comprised of the ship's youth behind by placing pressure on her sister's shoulder. She didn't see the looks on their faces, yet she knew they were contemplating how odd Navi was. "Come on. Let's go see father on the bridge. You know he prefers you not loiter around after class."

Somehow, her super-intelligent sister somehow at the age of ten managed to land a position upon the bridge, allowing the youngest of the captain's daughters to hear things she shouldn't. In some ways Savi suspected the reason behind the decision was to keep a closer eye on the eccentric child. The cold air of the hallway blew down, allowing fresh air to circulate, and yet the musty smell of a hundred years still seemed to permeate the ship. Everyone dreamed of the day the members of the colony ship would find a place to call their own, but the place to call home seemed a long way off.

The door of the bridge swished open, interrupting a conversation being held by the captain and the higher-ups on the crew. "Eventually, we will need to tell the general populations our course has been off for some time because of attacks we suffered during the Great War."

"You mean we're not heading towards the colony?" Savi felt her throat tighten, panic welling in her chest upon realizing something was wrong. Navi headed over to her small station, her tiny fingers touching the screen under the instructions of the crew member who was teaching Navi the ins and outs of her particular job.

"Savi, I need you to leave. You're not supposed to be here."

The fifteen-year-old felt like twisting a lock of her hair, the words she overheard having sent a chill down her spine. "You know full well that if I didn't bring Navi here, she'd find something to distract herself with." Savi's hazel eyes moved around the room, noting the tension in the room. The fact Navi would wander off should have prevented them from selecting Navi for the bridge. The young blond-haired teen's throat tightened, realizing she'd sensed the tension from her father and mother whenever she was at home, explaining why even that place of late wasn't the calm sanctuary it usually was. "If we're not heading towards the colony, then where are we heading?"

"The demon colony."

Savi turned her head and looked at the pale child standing at the console, realizing why Navi recently started talking about the stellar myth in front of everyone. The girl felt her throat tighten but found herself quickly ignored by the adults around her. The captain's lieutenant spoke in a monotone manner, his eyes narrowing while he spoke to the captain. "I don't see why we should tell the general population. One hour or a couple of days isn't going to help them prepare for the fact we're in trouble. All they need to know is the protocol for landing on an unknown planet."

"They aren't going to be pleased with the fact we've known about this for some time and have done nothing."

"Our predecessors decided it was best not to say anything, as we actually can't do anything about the situation. We also discussed this a few months ago, not to mention a few years ago, and every single time you were outvoted. We're lucky Navi's mind is able to calculate the adjustments needed based on the damage sustained, and what limited data we've been able to retrieve regarding the planet when we make planetfall. She's even calculating possible reaction scenarios, and none of them require the crew having prior knowledge."

The captain opened his mouth to say something but stopped upon noticing Savi was still watching him. "You really need to leave."

Savi took a deep breath, her eyes darting back over to Navi, knowing full well the mind of ten-year-old was too much like a robot for the blond-haired female's liking. The fifteen-year-old turned on her heels, only to hear the chilling voice of her younger sister. "Wait." The teen turned, her mouth pushed together in frustration. Navi, however, for once looked her in the eye, her own mouth pushed together, almost as if she sought to mimic her sister. "Stay. You need to buckle up."

The young woman working with Navi turned her head, the agitation quite apparent on her face. "Captain, it is advisable that we send out the alarm."

"Whatever for?" The lieutenant folded his arms, his mouth twisted in a stern manner.

"Our data shows that the planet the demon colony is on shouldn't have any moons, and yet there is the moon there, circling the planet."

A silence fell over the room. Navi turned to speak to her father, her face emotionless. "We're reaching planeside in three minutes."

The lieutenant snapped, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. "You said we would have anywhere between an hour to two days."

"You told me to calculate within all possibilities, and I told you this information this morning, meaning a few hours have passed." Navi started to buckle herself in, and Savi quickly moved to a seat nearby, the color draining from her face. Her father stared for a few seconds before heading to the console so he might issue out the order for everyone on the ship to head to stations which would allow them to ride out planetfall, should it occur.

The red light flashed; Savi's eyes darted to the front screen which showed what was just outside the bridge. A planet loomed, green and lush like the members of the ship wanted, and yet a morbid feeling settled into her stomach. A gaping brown spot covered a section of the land, and the moon came closer; the celestial body did not seem at all-natural compared to the pictures of the moon from Earth.

A blast jarred the ship; Savi felt her neck snap slightly, the computer reporting that the shields were out and that one of the systems preventing immediate planet falls managed to turn off at the most inopportune time. The hazel eyes of the fifteen-year-old snapped shut while Navi's fingers went to work on the computer screen in front of her, the ten-year-old acting as if nothing out of the norm had occurred. Savi's eyes opened back up in time to see desert sands quickly approaching the ship as a loud cracking sound riveting through the entire place.

Somehow the ship managed to remain intact while sliding through the desert, the deluge of sand waves erupting out to the sides. For a moment her breath stopped, the sight of a small figure staring at the ship appearing on the screen as if the ship might hit. More sand from below suddenly erupted up despite the distance, making the space ship tilt to the side, and then everything tipped over, leaving Savi to hang upside down. Opening her eyes left her seeing a broken visual screen.

She couldn't erase the red-haired figure from her mind, or the fact she thought someone as small as a human somehow managed to toss a ship the size of one of old Earth's city blocks. The word demon seemed all too apt.


	2. Life's Purpose, Monstrous Experiment

Life...

The monotonous drone of everyday life ate away at the soul, leaving the world appearing as if in tones of gray rather than the vibrant colors which existed in real life. The teacher droned on, his voice likewise monotonous. The rhetoric passing his lips drummed through the young students' minds pushing the perceived lie; if life really did come to mean nothing, then why did everyone on board the ship see the world represented in colors.

"That's what you should take away from this book, _The Giver_ , that there is still hope for our colony ship despite the damage sustained a hundred years ago during the Great War. Eventually, we will arrive at our utopia, the land of milk and honey."

A finger swept across the computer screen, pulling colorful clothing unavailable on the colony ship on and off an electronic doll. The fifteen-year-old teen struggled back her boredom. Every so often her hazel eyes darted up with a dirty look aimed at the teacher. Savi wondered when the younger students would come to realize the information given in class proved useless regarding everyday life. In this case, she also held personal doubts regarding the message in the book.

"Seeing life in color my ass. The only real place we find the color on this ship are these electronic games they allow us to play."

Heaving the words from the classmate who shared her desk setting made Savi reach up allowing her finger to twirl a strand of her blond hair. Her thin lips pushed together. "Go away Avrid." She gagged at the sight of the flirtatious seventeen-year-old chuckling, his light strawberry-blond locks falling in front of his crystal blue eyes. The fifteen-year-old twisted the blond lock of hair tighter, her lips pushing together more. " _Seriously, the options for a fifteen-year-old looking for romance on this ship are way too limited. The guys are either too old, too young, too dumb, or too ugly._ "

A sigh of relief left the blond-haired teen upon hearing the delightful sound of the school bell ringing. Her eyes drifted over towards her best friend. The frown on Darin's face made the side of Savi's face wince, her lips pushing together even tighter, her hazel eyes watching as Avrid purposefully bumped into the brown-haired sixteen-year-old. "What?"

"I could ask the teacher to allow you and me to switch places with you, that way you don't have to deal with Avrid."

"No thanks." A heavy feeling settled into Savi's stomach, her eyes darting away to look at the electronic blackboard at the front of the classroom. The fifteen-year-old quickly detached her pad from the classroom console, hoping to escape from her peer group, and into the quiet sanctuary of the captain quarters, only to stop upon seeing Avird let out a curse when one of the elementary level students crashed into him.

"Hey, you do know what happens to kids when they misbehave? The officers put them in an escape hatch, and launch them out towards the Demon Colony, so the monsters can eat them."

The corner of Darin's mouth twitched. "Come on Avrid. Everyone knows that place is a myth. That colony never existed. Even if it did, that would be a waste of escape pods."

Avird made himself stand at his full height, his crystal blue eyes flashing with anger. His mouth opened while his fist clenched together, indicating he wished to pummel the sixteen-year-old. Savi felt the tension in the small hallway of the ship grow and braced herself for the two to break out into yet another fight. A small, soft voice next to her spoke up; the sound of the voice of the ten-year-old sent chills down Savi's spine.

"The Demon Colony isn't a myth. The place really exists, bull all ships are expected to avoid the place. What exists there is another question entirely."

Savi tilted her head, her hazel eyes noting the presence of her younger sister. Navi's blond hair was lighter, to the point the strands appeared white with only a slight tint of gold; in addition, her eyes were a vivid red. The youngest of the captain's children looked like a ghost; some of the other children thought the pale child enjoyed things of the occult nature or was herself a phantom. Navi's mouth also spouted off random details about the stellar myths floating around the ship with ease; Savi knew, though, her sister simply picked up any piece of information she somehow managed to retain within that eclectic mind of hers.

The fifteen-year-old steered her ten-year-old sister into leaving the group comprised of the ship's youth behind by placing pressure on her sister's shoulder. She didn't see the looks on their faces, yet she knew they were contemplating how odd Navi was. "Come on. Let's go see father on the bridge. You know he prefers you not loiter around after class."

Somehow, her super-intelligent sister somehow at the age of ten managed to land a position upon the bridge, allowing the youngest of the captain's daughters to hear things she shouldn't. In some ways Savi suspected the reason behind the decision was to keep a closer eye on the eccentric child. The cold air of the hallway blew down, allowing fresh air to circulate, and yet the musty smell of a hundred years still seemed to permeate the ship. Everyone dreamed of the day the members of the colony ship would find a place to call their own, but the place to call home seemed a long way off.

The door of the bridge swished open, interrupting a conversation being held by the captain and the higher-ups on the crew. "Eventually, we will need to tell the general populations our course has been off for some time because of attacks we suffered during the Great War."

"You mean we're not heading towards the colony?" Savi felt her throat tighten, panic welling in her chest upon realizing something was wrong. Navi headed over to her small station, her tiny fingers touching the screen under the instructions of the crew member who was teaching Navi the ins and outs of her particular job.

"Savi, I need you to leave. You're not supposed to be here."

The fifteen-year-old felt like twisting a lock of her hair, the words she overheard having sent a chill down her spine. "You know full well that if I didn't bring Navi here, she'd find something to distract herself with." Savi's hazel eyes moved around the room, noting the tension in the room. The fact Navi would wander off should have prevented them from selecting Navi for the bridge. The young blond-haired teen's throat tightened, realizing she'd sensed the tension from her father and mother whenever she was at home, explaining why even that place of late wasn't the calm sanctuary it usually was. "If we're not heading towards the colony, then where are we heading?"

"The demon colony."

Savi turned her head and looked at the pale child standing at the console, realizing why Navi recently started talking about the stellar myth in front of everyone. The girl felt her throat tighten but found herself quickly ignored by the adults around her. The captain's lieutenant spoke in a monotone manner, his eyes narrowing while he spoke to the captain. "I don't see why we should tell the general population. One hour or a couple of days isn't going to help them prepare for the fact we're in trouble. All they need to know is the protocol for landing on an unknown planet."

"They aren't going to be pleased with the fact we've known about this for some time and have done nothing."

"Our predecessors decided it was best not to say anything, as we actually can't do anything about the situation. We also discussed this a few months ago, not to mention a few years ago, and every single time you were outvoted. We're lucky Navi's mind is able to calculate the adjustments needed based on the damage sustained, and what limited data we've been able to retrieve regarding the planet when we make planetfall. She's even calculating possible reaction scenarios, and none of them require the crew having prior knowledge."

The captain opened his mouth to say something but stopped upon noticing Savi was still watching him. "You really need to leave."

Savi took a deep breath, her eyes darting back over to Navi, knowing full well the mind of ten-year-old was too much like a robot for the blond-haired female's liking. The fifteen-year-old turned on her heels, only to hear the chilling voice of her younger sister. "Wait." The teen turned, her mouth pushed together in frustration. Navi, however, for once looked her in the eye, her own mouth pushed together, almost as if she sought to mimic her sister. "Stay. You need to buckle up."

The young woman working with Navi turned her head, the agitation quite apparent on her face. "Captain, it is advisable that we send out the alarm."

"Whatever for?" The lieutenant folded his arms, his mouth twisted in a stern manner.

"Our data shows that the planet the demon colony is on shouldn't have any moons, and yet there is the moon there, circling the planet."

A silence fell over the room. Navi turned to speak to her father, her face emotionless. "We're reaching planeside in three minutes."

The lieutenant snapped, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. "You said we would have anywhere between an hour to two days."

"You told me to calculate within all possibilities, and I told you this information this morning, meaning a few hours have passed." Navi started to buckle herself in, and Savi quickly moved to a seat nearby, the color draining from her face. Her father stared for a few seconds before heading to the console so he might issue out the order for everyone on the ship to head to stations which would allow them to ride out planetfall, should it occur.

The red light flashed; Savi's eyes darted to the front screen which showed what was just outside the bridge. A planet loomed, green and lush like the members of the ship wanted, and yet a morbid feeling settled into her stomach. A gaping brown spot covered a section of the land, and the moon came closer; the celestial body did not seem at all-natural compared to the pictures of the moon from Earth.

A blast jarred the ship; Savi felt her neck snap slightly, the computer reporting that the shields were out and that one of the systems preventing immediate planet falls managed to turn off at the most inopportune time. The hazel eyes of the fifteen-year-old snapped shut while Navi's fingers went to work on the computer screen in front of her, the ten-year-old acting as if nothing out of the norm had occurred. Savi's eyes opened back up in time to see desert sands quickly approaching the ship as a loud cracking sound riveting through the entire place.

Somehow the ship managed to remain intact while sliding through the desert, the deluge of sand waves erupting out to the sides. For a moment her breath stopped, the sight of a small figure staring at the ship appearing on the screen as if the ship might hit. More sand from below suddenly erupted up despite the distance, making the space ship tilt to the side, and then everything tipped over, leaving Savi to hang upside down. Opening her eyes left her seeing a broken visual screen.

She couldn't erase the red-haired figure from her mind, or the fact she thought someone as small as a human somehow managed to toss a ship the size of one of old Earth's city blocks. The word demon seemed all too apt.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Life's Purpose, Monstrous Experiment**

* * *

**The Demon Planet  
** **_Life's Purpose, Monstrous Experiment_ **

Life...

Everyone in life needs a purpose.

Gaara sat watching the sunrise, the thoughts in his mind rattling around as he tried to eke out exactly what his purpose now was, having abandoned his previous purpose in favor of no longer tearing his soul apart. The auburn-haired shinobi knew his purpose involved forming some kind of bond with people, but relationships were a foreign concept to the young shinobi. All Gaara ever knew his entire life involved killing others, and yet that no longer felt fulfilling.

A demon...

The twelve-year-old shaped his entire life around personifying the demon, the monster, everyone else told him he was, yet after his battle with Naruto, the young shinobi no longer felt this right, that possibly he could come to care about others. The first rays of golden sun spread out across the desert sands with Suna, the village hidden in the sand, at his back. Outside, in the desert, Gaara did not need to think about the politics back in the village, nor pretend to understand how manipulative the adults around him could be.

The auburn-haired twelve-year-old learned a long time ago exactly how manipulative adults could be, remembering all too well the echoing voice at the back of his head which reminded him of that fact; his father, the fourth kazekage, choose to seal inside his unborn son a demon of destruction. Instead of being the weapon and hope the village wanted, Gaara instead turned into a danger, one his father decided to destroy.

" _The one thing I can't figure out is, why did he ever find me useful enough to stop trying to send assassins after me? I still destroyed things, and nobody knew when I would lose it._ " The thin auburn-haired child would ask the man, but instead found himself sitting on the broken sandstone piercing the desert sands; his father was dead, killed by someone Suna had supposedly allied itself with, and no answers from Rasa would be coming.

Asking the question of the elders didn't work either, as the old men would stare at him, wondering what plot the local monster was up to now, deeming him still a failed experiment. Gaara would have asked his teacher Baki, or his siblings Temari and Kankuro, but for some strange reason, the auburn-haired preteen thought they still weren't sure about the change in personality. This left Gaara to his own devices, repeating the patterns of behavior from before the chunin exams, minus the bloodshed that tended to go with.

The young shinobi headed out to the desert, sitting there watching for the sun to show up, marveling at how many different colors of sunsets there were, before proceeding to manipulate the sand to do his bidding. Gaara surprised himself, finding the task of moving his sand coming with more ease now that he concluded his purpose would have something to do with protecting others, as if he, like Naruto, managed to find some kind of new strength.

The golden tongues of sunlight began to stretch farther across the desert, and the auburn-haired shinobi's eyes blinked a couple of times, the light making Gaara squint out at the horizon. The twelve-year-old stood up, interest in starting the task of moving his sand, discovering exactly how much he could do. He turned his head slightly so that he could see how the sand moved, only for his seafoam green eyes to blink, the sight of a strange object approaching from the sky catching him off guard.

The amount of time it took for the object to approach seemed unnatural; a bird would have fallen down quick, and an item from a ballista or some other weapon would be there already. The object also kept getting bigger, and Gaara's mind finally registered that the object was very large. Even from a distance away, the young auburn-haired shinobi could see the sand kicking up as it crashed, continuing to travel forward. For some reason, fire of a strange color also billowed out from the object, and Gaara's mind registered that the object posed some kind of danger.

Instinctively Gaara's hands moved in a smooth motion, bringing the object to a dead stop. His seafoam green eyes watched as the object, which now seemed similar in some manner to the ships he'd seen off the desert coast. With ease, the object lifted up and turned over. He heard a loud cracking sound which reminded his slightly of an egg cracking; his eyes darted over to Suna, only to remember at the least minute his habit of coming out to train at a distance where he could no longer see the walls of the village.

" _Probably for the best._ " Gaara turned, his small frame heading towards the object. When the twelve-year-old neared the object, he started to see a glimmer, and then the object disappeared. The auburn-haired preteen stopped just outside of where the object was, his arms crossing while his lips pushed together, contemplating what the best option was. " _Whatever this is, it poses a danger to Suna, so it is best to deal with it myself._ "

His hand reached up with his palm held out, the sand reaching up around some kind of static, making part of the object shimmer slightly into view, then Gaara twisted his palm to the outside, his eyes narrowing at the amount of force he needed to use to tear open the object. For a moment, a gaping hole appeared, and air rushed out. The auburn-haired teen moved forward, bringing his path of sand with him.

An alarm of some kind barred on the inside while Gaara's seafoam green eyes took in the interior of the object. His mind drifted to the few archeologist shinobi within Suna, their jobs being to find old technology from nearby ruins to bring back for the village to utilize, possibly make a profit from. The numbers were cut, as Rasa deemed them not bringing in enough revenue for the village.

The sound of pounding footsteps made Gaara turn his head slightly, and he saw people dressed in strange clothing approaching him. The reactions on their faces said they found him just as strange if they did not have a sense of fear. One of the men used some kind of device which shot off a projectile, and Gaara's sand rushed to protect him. The young shinobi heard the gasps from the men as the projectiles fell to the ground.

A flick of his wrist moved the sand to knock the men into the wall rather than squishing them like Gaara would have done in the past. Something seemed to draw him, his curiosity getting the better of him. "What is that thing?"

Shukaku's voice riveted in the back of his head, whining in pain. " _Don't go near that! Stay away from that!_ "

Gaara ignored the tailed beasts pleas, the idea of doing something which for once displeased the creature sounding quite pleasant. His feet made no noise as he headed down the corridor, the alarms still blazing, only to quickly be flooded by his sand, the deadening noise stopping every single time he came to a new alarm. A few more times people tried to stop him with the guns, only for the auburn-haired preteen to shove them up against a wall.

A door finally loomed in front of him, the sensation he felt coming from behind. More of the people in strange clothing showed up, and as his hand moved towards the door to force it open, one spoke in agitation. Gaara turned his head to look at the man, wondering why the man in question seemed so upset. He turned his attention back to the door, his mind registering the concept of a danger being behind the door, one that he needed to extinguish.

This was particularly so, since the whining of Shukaku managed to worsen the closer he got to the place.

This time instead of trying to shoot him, the men tried to tackle him, but the sand reacted in the same way, pushing them into the walls. The sound of metal ripping away from metal sounded much better than the sound of crushing bones ever did, but the brightness on the other side of the door which appeared made Gaara squint his eyes, much, in the same manner, he did when looking at the sunrise in the mornings.

Instinctively he retched, and then he began to flood the chamber with sand, forcing the strange swirling light to go out. His eyes blinked a few times, temporarily blinded in a partial manner due to the light. Gaara thus didn't notice the men approaching him, with guns in their hands. His ears heard a strange sound and then felt a burning sensation in his side, making him look in the direction the attack had come in. The auburn-haired twelve-year-old felt his throat tighten, his mind registering the fact something had gotten beyond his barrier.

The sound repeated, and he felt his other side hit, his thin arms instinctively reaching around his ribs, the pain shooting through them, Gaara's entire body reacting to the pain. He collapsed to his knees, his eyesight blurring, and then he crumpled to the ground, his last thought wondering whether he should have simply gone back to Suna, seeking help from his older siblings.


	3. Like Me, Sort Of, But Not

The lights on the ship bridge flickered below Savi and Navi. The pale blond ten-year-old looked down at the flickering lights, her thin lips becoming thinner as they pressed together while her red eyes took in the damage to the bridge area. Her small hands reached down to unbuckle herself, only for Savi to snap. "Don't. You'll drop down and hurt yourself."

Navi stopped briefly, her red eyes looking her sister in the eye. Her head tilted slightly as her white locks of hair hung down, cascading about in the air. Her thumbs pressed down on the button, she dropped onto the ceiling of the bridge with a thud. A slight pain riveted through her small body, but she shook off the pain. Looking up, Navi could see her sister looking down at her, just as the anti-gravity field kicked back in, righting everything in the room, making more things crash.

Their father quickly moved to unbuckle himself, catching Navi in his arms, setting her down. "You shouldn't be so impatient Navi."

The second in command glowered at her. "You know, if it weren't for us needing her for the emergency situation, it would have been better to just get rid of her."

Navi stared at the man, no emotion appearing on her face. The small figure headed over to the door, only for a shrill alarm to go off. The sound riveted through her head, and for a brief moment, she covered her ears with her small hands. The adults in the room looked at each other, none of them sure what transpired to set off the alarm. The computer, however, told them exactly what the emergency issue was. "Hull breach! Intruder alert. Intruder alert! Hull breach!"

"It's that red haired thing on the screen." Savi's words came out while letting out a deep breath of air; the fifteen-year-old began to twist a lock of her hair around a finger again, her teeth grinding together indicating the entire situation frustrated her.

"What red haired thing?" Their father looked at the older sister. "I didn't see a red-haired thing on the screen."

The oldest of the two sisters glared at her father, but Navi headed to the computer, her finger pushing buttons to bring up a playback onto the screen on the broken visual screen prior to flipping over. Her thin fingers brushed across the screen, zooming in on a figure not far from the bridge, and a red-haired youth appeared on the screen, manipulating his hands in a strange manner. The lieutenant stepped up, eying the strange being. "Is it just me or is that thing what made the ship turn over. His actions coincide with the ship rising up just before it flipped."

Another flick of the finger brought up the screen before the hull breach, and the crew members on the bridge watched as the auburn-haired child ripped away the hull while the sand came pouring in. The adults in the room stared at the scene in front of them, their eyes widening in horror at how easily the child ripped off the side of the ship, before slamming a few others into the wall, heading off in another direction. Navi blinked a couple of times, hearing her father give orders to bring out the stun guns, setting them to the maximum setting.

The pale blond ten-year-old looked up, her mouth opening slightly. "I don't think he's wanting to hurt anybody."

"That alien just ripped a hole in this ship, and you're saying he didn't want to hurt anything?" The second in command shook his head, his eyes looking her right in the eye, making Navi feel unsafe. Her small, thin frame moved to stand behind her father while her small hands clutched his uniform. A rough hand reached down and ruffled the top of her head in an attempt to assure her things would be alright, but then left to pursue the intruder to the ship. Navi looked up at her sister, who simply looked down at her, Savi's hazel eyes betraying the fact she felt Navi was an inconvenience.

"Look..." Savi looked away. "You should likely head to the medical treatment unit."

"I'm fine." Navi pushed a few more buttons, allowing the cameras to follow the auburn-haired child. "He's not hurting anybody."

"How is shoving someone into the wall not hurting someone?"

Navi's eyes narrowed. "He could do worse."

"Now, why do you say that?"

"He ripped the enforced hull off our ship. The pressure needed to breach the hull..."

"The ship received damage when we crash landed. I'm sure the structural damage in that area allowed him to breach the hull."

The pale blond-haired female narrowed her eyes, Navi's older sister's candid attitude was not bothering the ten-year-old in the least. Her attention quickly turned to the actions of the auburn-haired child, Savi also noticing the boy managed to find the power core for the entire ship. Panic appeared on the faces of the adults who surrounded the young man, and over the intercom the two heard one of the adults speak up. "Don't! That place is dangerous."

Savi winced as the auburn-haired child plowed all of the men into the wall, proceeding to then rip the doors off the hinges. The oldest of the two sisters cleared her throat, the sound of air blowing out her nose indicating the rise in Savi's frustration. "He just..." A hand gently touched Navi's shoulder. "How can you still say that this kid isn't dangerous?"

"Perhaps it would be better to say he doesn't want to hurt anybody, but his actions end up doing unintentional harm."

"That doesn't matter." Savi took another deep breath as the boy filled the chamber with sand, putting out the power core. A rare curse word slipped from her mouth, and her head shook in dismay, one finger twisting a blond lock of hair. "He's a monster. Something like this, it shouldn't exist."

"Kind of like myself?" Navi's thoughts didn't come out of her mouth, knowing full well her sister would deny the very idea despite having possibly wondered the same thing. The ten-year-old winced, her eyes closing at the sight of the stun guns being shot off at the auburn-haired youth on the visual monitor who flinched slightly a few minutes later. Navi forced her eyes open in time to see the young man crumpling to the ground. One of her small hands reached up to grip onto her older sisters clothing, the white-haired child's mouth pushing together in frustration.

Eventually, their father returned, calling for a meeting with the other members of the bridge crew, and Savi left, leaving the ten-year-old child with the adults who had cut down the auburn-haired youth. Her eyes drifted to the ground, listening to the adults discuss what should be done with the intruder.

"He's a danger." One of the adults glared at the captain and second seat. "We should find some way to kill him."

"And lose what information we can gain from him?" The lieutenant spoke up, letting the others in the room simmer. "I'll freely admit that child is a danger for all of us, but there is still the fact we need to know more about this situation."

"That alien..."

"Aren't we the aliens here." Navi piped up from her seat, making all of the adults turn to look at her. The ten-year-old stared forward, her eyes unblinking, her small hands hanging down. "The person who is the alien is that which is foreign. That's the very definition of the word, is it not?

Navi's small head turned when the second seat attempted to correct her. "Alien also has the meaning of an extraterrestrial being that is not human. That boy is not human. As such, he has no rights here."

The captain sighed, his fingers tapping on the table. "We're not going to kill the child. Whether he is an extraterrestrial or not doesn't matter. How we treat him will determine our relationship with the beings of this planet. Just because we're human doesn't make us better, but we also don't know what kind of powers the others on this planet have."

The man then changed the subject. "We need to get the main power back up and running, which means cleaning out the sand from the chamber, but also puting the door back on before we jump start the core. All of our residual power is being sent to the medical bay at this point in time and other important areas including maintaining the gravity field."

"Don't worry. I've got a power source in mind. I've been researching alternate power sources." The second seat leaned back in his seat.

"But..." Navi's nose wrinkled up, the man's words confusing her.

"Don't worry about it Navi. I'll let you know if we need you. If one of the older crew members can handle the situation, you need not worry. You should go and see if the medical staff needs any help. You'll be of more use there."

The ten-year-old child stood up, her white locks of hair falling in front of her eyes. The door to the meeting room swished shut behind her, and Navi spoke out loud with no actual person to hear what she had to say. "What research? The solar panels are packed up, and we've no backup generators which aren't already being used. We lost those during the Great War."

Navi followed her father's instructions and headed to the medical bay to see if she could help with any of the injuries sustained by the other members of the ship. Upon stepping in, her red eyes scanned the room, finding none of the medical staff in the room. Instead, her eyes fell upon the still figure lying in a bed, his auburn hair soaked with the liquid used for disinfection purposes.

The ten-year-old stepped over to the being. Someone changed his clothing into the medical whites used for patients in the medical bay. Someone attached straps to restrain him to the bed. Navi's thin fingers reached out to touch the auburn-haired person, her curiosity perked by the boy.

Two eyes snapped open, revealing seafoam green eyes, and the boy's mouth opened slightly. The sound of the medical bay doors opening startled Navi, making her dart to a hiding spot behind one of the medical tables.

"I can't believe the captain is having you treat the alien."

"Don't go there Avrid. The boy is still a living being." The doctor sounded rather irritated with the seventeen-year-old and asked him to leave. The door opened and closed again. A silence fell across the room as Navi remained silent in her spot, and the man spoke to the boy. "So, you look human, but are you? You don't understand our language.

The room remained silent, and Navi wasn't sure if she should let the man know she was in there. The doctor however never had a problem with her hanging out in the medical bay, so long as there was no risk of illness being passed onto her. She stopped short when the door opened, and another person entered. "I need a favor from you." The sound of the second seat's voice made Navi freeze. "Do you remember how you got a magnetic reading off that kid? I need you to attach this device to him."

"Excuse me?" The medical specialist's voice tensed up. "This goes against protocol."

"An order is an order. This is how we'll power up to do the repairs to the core. This is the least this alien child can do in return for damaging your ship and attacking our crew like he did."

"Alright, but I don't think this is a good idea."

Navi snuck around the counter, the swish of the door opening and closing being the only thing alerting the adults someone had been in the room. As she left, she noticed how still the auburn-haired child was, but something else told her the situation wasn't right.


	4. Of Demons, and of Aliens

" _I should have waited for Temari and Kankuro for help._ "

The young auburn-haired shinobi's consciousness for a while remained blank before coming to with a dull pain throbbing in his side. Gaara's limbs and eyelids felt heavy, almost as if weighed down by rocks. His mind wandered for a brief second why he felt the way he did. All trains of thought jolted away, his mind jolting awake as something cold and wet hit him, soaking into his clothing, washing the sand away at the same time.

Gaara's eyes opened up to see himself in a small room which boxed him into a small four by four area with white falls. On either side stood two figures dressed in white as liquid jetted out from the white walls blasting the sand away. The liquid smelled overly clean. As Gaara flexed his fingers, he realized his hands were restrained by something. His fingers twisted into a fist in an attempt to manipulate the disappearing sand, but his energy depleted in the same manner of the sand, thus preventing him from using his sand in even a defensive manner.

Soon, all of the sand was gone and Gaara found himself blanking out again, wondering why his chakra depleted so easily. When he awoke again, his eyes fluttered open to see a girl younger than himself. Her eyes were a scarlet red, and her hair white. Gaara's entire body felt heavy still, but his chakra was beginning to replenish. The room was stark white. Something made him realize he was in the thing which fell from the sky. " _I possibly used up too much chakra at that point. I overestimated my abilities._ "

The girl disappeared from sight when someone came into the room. He overheard someone speaking, but he couldn't understand what either said, as the language was foreign to him. A man came over to talk to him, saying, "~So, you look human, but are you? You don't understand our language.~"

Gaara's eyes shut, feeling his chakra continue replenishing while Shukaku complained in the back of his head. Someone else came into the room and spoke with the person, yet Gaara kept his eyes closed. The fact Gaara couldn't understand the man frustrated him, but he kept his eyes closed Gaara felt the straps tying him down loosened and his wrists places into some kind of device. " _I can't move._ "

His eyes open, drifting over to the man who first came in. Some kind of string or warrior was attached to the device. He watched the other man hook the object up to the wall. Suddenly, the auburn-haired shinobi blinked a couple of times and then drew his breath in as an unpleasant feeling pulled at his body in a manner Gaara couldn't describe. He felt his chest tighten, and his muscles tensed against the restraints.

The need to get away hit him in the center of his stomach. A sweat broke out of his forehead making Gaara's eyes snap shut. " _I'll accept any punishment Temari has for me if only she and Kankuro get me out of this. Get this thing off me._ "

The fingers of his hand twitched and a few words slipped from his mouth; he'd stuttered out his sibling's names. His eyes snapped back open as someone blocked the light by leaning over. Gaara fought to keep his eyes open, his mouth opening upon seeing the person leaning over him was a girl around Kankuro and Temari's age leaning over him, her hazel eyes looking right into his, making him feel uncomfortable enough to let out a rather strange sound, almost like the sound he let out when he was irritated and threatened to kill people.

The female teen said something he couldn't understand, before looking over at someone else. "~He really doesn't look good, like you said Navi. Father really ordered this?~"

Gaara's eyes moved over to see the girl with white hair was back, but also with them was a boy with brown hair, who also looked around the age of his older siblings. One of the older teens released restraints, allowing him to move. The young auburn-haired shinobi sat up, only to find himself falling over the edge onto the ground, his stomach attempting to lurch out its contents. His entire body felt weaker than before, but he still attempted to stand up on his own two legs.

Someone touched his shoulder, making him flinch. Gaara pulled back realizing the two older teens were nearby, acting as if they wanted to help him, but he honestly couldn't trust the strangers. His body pulled away, only for the girl to grab his wrists making him realize it was the male teen touching his shoulder. The girl quickly removed the device his wrists, and he felt the young man lift him up. Gaara attempted to struggle, not liking the fact some stranger was touching him. The young auburn-haired preteen attempted to struggle out of the older teens grip but found his body too weak.

The young man spoke up. "~Come on, we need to get out of here. We can't let the adults catch us. Navi, you'll keep an eye out to make sure there are no adults in route to the docking bay?~"

"~I'm not sure we can get anything out of the docking bay. A lot of the residual power is being used to run the medical bay and the rebuilding equipment.~"

"~Yeah, well I think we're biting off more than we can chew.~" The older female shook her head at the younger female.

**DP**

Savi lay on her back, her finger swiping across the screen of her pad, reading one of the books saved to the data space. The lights were on, and the gravity field allowed to function, indicating the adults had found some kind of solution. The door to her small room swished open, and she turned to look at her sister. Navi's scarlet eyes and mouth betrayed the fact she was panicking. "What's the matter?"

"Father ordered the alien to be used for energy."

The blond-haired fifteen-year-old stared at Navi, her mind trying to figure out the ten-year-old child. Savi pushed herself up. "Come on Navi. Father wouldn't do such a thing."

"He did. The second seat said it was an order to the head doctor. They hooked up some kind of weird device to him. Do something."

"Do something?" Savi let out a sigh. "What exactly do you expect me to do?"

"They're hurting them. What would you do?" Navi stopped, her eyes darting down to the ground, her fingers twisting together in frustration.

"If it were you?" Savi swung her legs over the edge. She stood up, heading to the door. Navi followed after her, her small mouth twisted up into a frown; her eyes begged her older sister to help out. Upon leaving it, she headed to another quarter area on the ship, letting the door slide open. "Darin, I need your help with something."

The brown-haired teen looked up, a frown on his face. "I'm kind of working on my homework."

"Please." Navi peeked around her sister, making the sixteen-year-old let out a sigh, shaking his head.

"Come on. Help us save the alien. Father ordered that he be used to repower the ship, according to Navi."

"As if a mere alien could be used to power a ship. They would have to have some kind of special power to..."

"Not an alien." Navi piped up. "We're the aliens here."

"Still, how can a person be used to power a ship, particularly one this large."

"How the hell should I know?" Savi waved her hand but then stopped. "Well, this is the alien which turned our ship upside down. I don't know though how long he's going to be able to last, though." The three-headed to the medical bay, both of the older kids not at all sure if Navi actually understood what was going on. The three slipped in.

"Wow. The kid really is hooked up to something." Darin frowned, stepping over with Savi.

Savi leaned over, watching the auburn-haired child's eyes open up, revealing pale green orbs that creeped her out as much as her sister Navi's eyes. "He really doesn't look good, like you said Navi. Father really ordered this?"

"Who else?" Navi's voice strained to indicate how upset the situation made her.

"That..." Savi shook her head, reaching out to help Darin unstrap the restraints holding the auburn-haired child down. The boy tried sitting up, his attempt at leaving resulting in him collapsing to the floor. Darin reached out to try and stop the boy from moving, only for the child to flinch much, in the same manner, Navi did when someone touched her and she didn't want them to. The bands which were obviously sucking out the boy's energy, possibly even killing him, needed to come off, so Savi grabbed his hands despite the fact she knew he didn't want to be touched, quickly removing the device.

Darin then lifted him up, and for some reason, Savi felt the boy was afraid of them. "I honestly can't blame him."

The children slowly moved to the docking bay, hoping no adult would run into them. They arrived and opened up the door, revealing the vehicles being prepared for exploring the planet outside once the repairs to the power core were completed.

"I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but we can't trust the adults."

"What do you mean you can't trust the adults? What is this "this you are planning which you don't think is a good idea? In fact, what are you doing with the alien Savi?"

Savi turned her head. "Great... Avrid."

"He's not an alien. We are."

"Yeah, you sure an alien Navi. I'm definitely sure the rest of us aren't. That said, what's going to stop me from calling an adult?" Avrid stepped from behind one of the all-terrain vehicles, only to find himself pushed aside by a small figure.

"Alien? It's a real alien?"

"We're the aliens." Navi glared at the child with the light brown locks of hair hanging down in front of a pair of goggles over his eyes.

"Great. It's Avrid's annoying little cousin Ratchin."

"This might actually work in our favor, what with his obsession with everything extraterrestrial."

"He doesn't know what an alien really is." Navi piped up, glaring at the young boy as she did so.

Darin ignored Navi, repositioning the auburn-haired child in his arms. "We're trying to save the alien."

"That..." Avid glared at them, his eyes revealing how irritating he found the situation.

"Let's help." Ratchin rushed over to one of the vehicles. "I like this one."

"Ratchin, we're supposed to be helping prepare the exploration vehicles for when they finish reactivating the core. That's the only one that didn't get damaged meaning that is the only one which can be used right away." Avid reached out a hand to pull on Ratchin's ear.

"Good." Darin headed over, letting the door to the rather large armored vehicle swing open after he pushed the button while trying to still hold onto the person they were attempting to save. The sixteen-year-old looked around, before setting the auburn-haired child onto the floor, and headed to the front area.

Avrid stepped on. "He's an alien, and dangerous."

"No, he isn't." Navi pushed by, nearly knocking the boy over. "He doesn't want to hurt people. He possibly thought we were the danger."

"We're not going." Avrid let out a growl of irritation, only for Ratchin to wiggle free and slip in right after Savi. He proceeded to buckle up while Darin shut the door before deciding to speak."

"We're leaving now."

"Yup! I want to see the alien planet!"

"You guys are freaking nuts!"


	5. Sandy Fog of Moments

Every move he made led to more and more mistakes; more importantly, Gaara's mind remained in a foggy area, moving in and out of reality. He made the mistake of not waiting for Temari and Kankuro, which led to him being captured. He'd failed at his mission in Konoha, which led to Suna being in a bad position. He'd killed so many of his own people, which led to nobody trusting him, including his own siblings. He'd made the mistake of being born, which led to his mother's death.

Despite all of this, he now found himself cradled gently to the chest of a complete stranger as if those mistakes meant nothing, which simply meant in Gaara's mind there was some kind of alternative to the kindness he was currently being shown which he, in reality, should be facing. In addition to this, his entire body was limp, his head resting up against the young man's shoulder, and his ears couldn't understand a thing being said to him.

Plus, what the adults did hurt. Gaara knew the adults did something to disrupt his chakra, but having it pulled out like it was felt worse than any of the injuries sustained during the Chunin Exams. His tongue felt dry; he attempted to open his mouth. Gaara's eyes opened halfway upon hearing two more voices, his limbs hanging limply as the teen still cradled him into his arms.

His eyes caught sight of a room inside of a bigger room, with its open door, which the teens took him to. The teen which had cradled him in his arms set him down into a sitting position, and Gaara felt himself almost fall forward. The female teen pushed him back up, strapping him to the wall with some kind of buckle. The door closed, and another teen and child joined the two teens and child already there.

Gaara's mouth opened but saying something was useless. His eyes opened up, taking in the new teen. The newest teens reaction was what he was used to, biting into his psyche reminding him how much of a monster he was. Everyone else buckled themselves into the seats, and a sudden jolt was felt. Gaara's eyes snapped open, his senses becoming less foggy as the sensation of danger hit him.

The house was somehow moving, and he nearly bit his tongue from shock. Gaara's head jolted around, his hands gripping the seat as the room continued to move. His eyes widened realizing that the others were used to this phenomenon, or so he thought. His mouth opened, nausea hitting his center of balance as the vehicle moved, not because of the movement, but because of his chakra levels. His mind spun, having caught sight bright light coming from the opening at the front.

A scraping sound was heard, a sound of irritation coming from the newest teen as the room was twisted around, making Gaara wonder why they were lifting up to the sky and not the ground. His eyes snapped shut. A grinding sound was heard, a complaint from the teen which had carried him to the small room. A pounding was heard from up front, and the newest team shouted.

The room tilted, then tilted some more, and then the sensation of freefalling came. The room smashed, the air draining from Gaara's mouth as his mind became fuzzy again, the adrenaline draining off, nausea growing worse. He kept his eyes closed, wishing he had his sand to ride on, but to also prevent them from crashing into the ground. The strap hurt his chest area; his tongue was dry, irritably so. The situation was a nightmare, but then – didn't the monster of Suna deserve to be put into a nightmare of his own? Karma had come back to bite him in the butt.

…

Two seafoam eyes opened up when Savi buckled in the ten-year-old alien child, into the seat or at least he looked that young to her. The boy seemed horribly out of everything, and she shook her head before taking a seat and buckling herself in, glad that Navi had buckled herself in.

Savi watched as the boy opened his eyes again, this time, wider. Avrid let out a curse, startling the boy sitting next to her. She glared at the other teen, her hazel eyes telling him how displeased she was with him. The young alien they'd rescued also seemed quite ill as the machine moved, and a sigh escaped her lips. She reached up to brush away an auburn lock, only for Avrid to hiss at her. "Really? You don't know him Savi, so why are you attempting to coddle him?"

The exploration vehicle moved into the exit railing into the device which would turn them around and lower them to the ground. Rarely did the vehicles ever need to be turned around, but they all went through simulator situations for their schooling in the case of such scenarios.

The vehicle also lowered to the ground, only to stop partway down. Darin let out a curse. "It jammed."

"Well, duh." Avrid rolled his icy-blue eyes, making Savi want to vomit. "The power's gone. We had only so much to work with you, moron."

"That's only because of him." Navi's mouth into a pout, her small feet kicking out while Ratchin let out a laugh, enjoying a situation he really shouldn't have enjoyed.

Darin banged on the ship, using his body to urge it out of the contraption holding them in place. Avrid's eyes widen. "Are you stupid! You're going to cause us to get into a major wreck!"

The seventeen-year-old reached to unbuckle himself, but Navi hissed at him. "Don't! If we crash, you'll get knocked all over the place!"

The color drained from Avrid's face, and Savi swallowed, wondering exactly what they'd gotten themselves into as Darin continued to lunge forward. She opened her mouth to make him stop, but it was too late. In all honesty, the machine shouldn't have given, meaning the tool had also been broken during the crash.

For some reason, they landed with little damage, but also right side up, almost as if the sand below had reached up to rescue them. She glanced over at the young man and saw his eyes closed, sweat dripping from his forehead, his facial expression twisted up in pain. The vehicle moved forward, and she unbuckled herself. Avrid glared at her. "What are you doing?"

"He's not doing okay." Carefully her fingers unbuckled the ten-year-old, letting him drop gently into her arms. Moving him though was no easy task. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Not."

Navi, however, unbuckled herself, as did Ratchin. The two younger crew members didn't hesitate to help her get the auburn-haired child turned over. She pressed a hand to his cheek and felt how warm he was. Savi thought carefully of what to do in such a situation and remembered the emergency supplies under the seats. She opened it up, grabbing first one of those cooling pads which activated when you twisted them.

She placed this under the boy's neck, his eyes still closed, letting him rest his head in her lap so his body was tilted slightly. She grabbed a container of water, snapping open the cap to let some dribble into the boy's mouth. He chocked for a bit, but then drank a few sips. Navi handed her one of the protein bars, and she broke off a piece, sticking it into his mouth.

The boy nearly gagged, but she held his mouth closed, helping him chew, but also making sure he swallowed. She repeated these actions a few times until the seafoam green eyes fluttered open. A groan escaped the boy's lips, and his eyes fluttered open and closed, only for him to startle, moving away, bumping into the driver's seat of the vehicle, making Darin look back. "You..."

The ten-year-old looked up his chest heaving. Navi moved closer, only for Avrid to unbuckle, quickly pulling her and Ratchin away. "You don't know if he's dangerous or not."

The auburn-haired teen's chest still heaved up and down, but not as rugged as before. His eyes narrowed at the two children and the seventeen-year-old, and yet he seemed resigned to their reaction. Savi opened her mouth, deciding to hold a hand her chest. "I'm Savi. What's your name?"

"He can't understand you." Avrid rolled his eyes.

"Savi..." The female teen ignored the oldest and instead pointed to the person next to her sister. "Navi."

"Ratchin..." The youngest male pointed to himself."

The auburn-haired child nodded his head once, gulping slightly. "Gaara. _Gaara of the sand._ " His head tilted slightly, seeming quite curious about them, but also still quite cautious.

"Darin."

"I'm not telling him my name."

Savi shook her head, pointing at the obstinant teen. "Avrid."

Gaara nodded his head, swallowing again. He looked at the boy, before shaking his head.

"You guys are so smart wanting to rescue the alien, but you don't know what kind of danger he is, or how to communicate with him." Avrid moved up to the second seat at the front, pulling up a set of headphones. His eyes narrowed. "Hey, there's this communication from another ship."

"Another ship." Savi's eyes brightened, not noticing the look of concern in Navi's eyes while she worried her bottom lip.


End file.
